Page 60 of Code Name: Scorpio

“A while.”

A while. He’d been lying here with her plastered all over him, and he hadn’t moved. She had absolutely no idea what to do with that, so she shoved it into the mental folder labeled deal with later, which at this point was basically a filing cabinet on fire.

“Sorry I…” Am draped over you like a blanket. That I’m using you as my personal mattress. “You know, sorry about this.”

“It’s no problem.”

She sat up, not looking at him. The room was dim, the late-afternoon light leaking through the faded curtains. Her migraine was totally gone, so they must’ve slept for a while.

“Um, I have to go to the bathroom,” she said. This room only had a small sink in the corner.

“Come on. I’ll wait outside the bathroom door. I’m not taking any chances.”

They got up, Ryder checked the hallway, then walked her to the bathroom with his hand on the small of her back. Peeing was the most awkward few minutes of her entire life: trying to hurry, trying not to think about how thin that door was, trying not to remember that she was in a building full of criminals who considered her to be Ryder’s property.

If she allowed herself to think about what was going to happen when she needed other…nature functions, she was going to totally freak out.

She could do this. She had to do this. She would not let the thought of pooping be what made her lose her courage.

But God, it was close.

Back in the room, she splashed water on her face in an attempt to make her hair look intentional. It did not look intentional. It looked like she’d slept in a strange bed after the worst night of her life, which was accurate, so at least her hair was honest.

Ryder went out and did whatever he needed to in the bathroom. She stared at the bedroom door the whole time, terrified the Diehl brothers had been waiting for this moment to pounce. But they didn’t.

Ryder came back in and sat on the bed.

“So what do we do now?” She was struggling not to pace. She felt like she should drop down and do push-ups to get rid of this pent-up energy coursing through her. She’d never done a push-up in her life.

“We’re going to stay in here as long as possible. They’re assuming we’re…occupied with other activities. Let them think that.”

“But eventually we’ll have to go out?”

He nodded. “Yes. If I had to place a bet, by Arlo. He likes to be entertained, and this is all so entertaining for him.”

Now she really did start pacing. “Entertaining?”

He shrugged. “A break in the routine. The whole submissive thing. Heath is more concerned about you as a security risk, but Arlo likes a show.”

She stopped and stared at him. “What if I mess it up?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached over and took her hand, tugging gently until she sat down next to him. She went. He pulled her closer, settling her against his side, and his hand found the small of her back and started moving in slow circles.

This wasn’t the cover. There was no audience. This was just Ryder, touching her because she was scared and he could feel it.

“You won’t mess it up.”

“You don’t know that.” Her voice was quieter this close to him. “What if someone talks to me and I freeze? What if I look at the wrong person and my brain does the thing?”

“Then I’ll handle it. Same way I handled the kitchen last night.”

“The kitchen was terrifying, Ryder.”

His hand kept moving on her back. Slow, steady, unhurried. “I know. And you got through it.” He pulled her in tighter. She let him. Her forehead was against his shoulder, and she could feel his voice in his chest. “You don’t have to be perfect out there, Cass. You just have to follow my lead. I’ll do the rest.”

They sat like that for a while. His hand still moving on her back. The house getting louder beyond the door.

“How did you and Fallon meet?” he asked.